A Sheffield-based cat rescue charity has raised adoption charges during December to discourage gifting cats for Christmas.  

Cat-CHING increased its adoption fee from £75 to £100 to mitigate the spike in pets being returned after being gifted with little to no thoughts about the long-term responsibilities of pet ownership. 

Co-founded by Jasmine Rogers and Lauren James Thompson, Cat-CHING is a registered charity helping the overpopulation of stray cats in Sheffield. 

Ms Rogers said: “Cats get returned for various reasons, which is quite disheartening because you think they’re going off to their forever home, and you don’t expect them to be returned.”

The fee increase also seeks to encourage people to consider the financial implications of adopting cats. 

Additionally, Cat-CHING undertakes a meticulous adoption process and conducts in-depth suitability assessments including home checks, to ensure that potential adoptees can satisfy the demands of owning a cat. 

The rescue advocates for the neutering of cats and undertakes Trap Neuter Return (TNR) programmes, as well as fostering and rehoming strays. 

Ms Rogers said: “The main reason we set up the rescue was to try and tackle the number of homeless cats in Sheffield. So neutering is a very large part of what we do.”

Relying solely on donations, the charity is operated by a network of volunteers who work part-time to fundraise, foster, attend to medical requirements like neutering and microchipping, and manning the social media pages. 

“We couldn’t do it without them. They help make it work.”

Demi Brookes, a volunteer for Cat-CHING, fostered and adopted her cat Soup after she was rescued from the streets of Sheffield while heavily pregnant. 

She said: “There’s a huge issue with the cycle of cats not being neutered, kittens being born on the streets, who four months later are pregnant and so the cycle continues. It’s relentless.”

Last weekend Cat-CHING collaborated with Lush on Fargate and successfully raised £600 for the expansion of the allotment where it houses feral cats.  

Ms Rogers explained: “Feral cats get very distressed and don’t very well inside. So, we keep them in an insulated shed on an allotment. A lot of the money that we get will be going towards creating a bigger and better space for the cats.” 

In 2022 alone, Cat-CHING rescued 1325 cats, of which they rehomed 764, and the numbers demand increases yearly, said Ms Rogers.  

To donate, foster, or adopt please visit https://cat-ching.com.

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